


Efforts of Perfection

by seastarSinger



Category: Future Card Buddyfight
Genre: Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorders, F/M, Familial Abuse, M/M, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Vomiting, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-02-04 18:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18610279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seastarSinger/pseuds/seastarSinger
Summary: Ranma Kakogawa has a great friend: Yuga Mikado. Yuga's pretty much perfect in every way...perfectly shaped body, clear skin, bright white smile, admirers, lots and lots of friends, great grades, and good at Buddyfight...and it starts to ruin Ranma's life.





	1. July

**Author's Note:**

> Foreword: Hey. This fanfic focuses first and foremost on eating disorders and exploration into the mind of one such person who is suffering with an eating disorder. Other topics that will occur include abuse and unhealthy coping skills. Bushiroad basically wrote another whump magnet (Ranma), and I'm taking advantage of that. Please read the tags as new chapters come out as preparation for what's to come. DL?DR.

This little cornerstore was pretty busy, somehow. The isles were full of more people than products on the shelf. Luckily, The two boys, Yuga and Ranma, didn't have to weather the crowd. They picked out whatever ice cream they wanted from the fridge sitting on the side of the store and walked to the counter.

"Hurry up Ranma, my icecream is melting while I'm waiting for you," Yuga whined. He was holding the package of ice cream by one corner, so as to not apply too much body heat to it, yet the condensation still dripped from the packaging. Ranma, halfway inside the fridge, was comparing at least three different ice creams before looking over his shoulder.

"Just go buy yours," Ranma halfheartedly mumbled to Yuga. With that he returned to the two products in each hand. Fruity or chocolately? Should he go with real ice cream or shaved ice? What would cool him down? But oh, that caramel ice cream would taste so good, if only it wasn't so rich and sticky! Not bound by Yuga's allowance this time around, Ranma chose two ice creams, a chocolate one first for the flavor, then the shaved ice to keep him cool. If the second one melted before he finished the first, the packaging would let him drink it instead. As long as he kept it upright, he wouldn't lose anything and it wouldn't make his hands sticky.

He was rung up by the cashier, and Yuga looked on outside, eating his already. Halfway done.

"Did you really buy two?" Yuga asked.

"Yep" Ranma responded, opening the chocolate ice cream and licking the frozen chocolate shell. It was already sweating.

As the two of them walked, chat was interspersed with bites of ice cream.

"I want to set up three angles," Ranma said, holding up three fingers, though one was obstructed by the unopened ice cream, "because the last video, we missed the pop."

"Yeah...hey do you have tarps?" Yuga replied, "Mom's been using ours for Haru's science project."

"I might," Ranma said. He bit into the last bits of his ice cream. He wondered about tossing the rest of the icecream on the stick. it wasn't worth gagging on it for what little was left, and licking it makes his tongue dry. Well, he would just open the other icecream anyway. So why not? After licking it off and throwing away the stick and wrapper for the other icecream in a trash bin, it was time to have the other one. It should wash down the gooey un-refreshing aftertaste of the other one, he hoped.

Eating this one was kind of hard. It was half melted, not whole melted. He was able to drink a little bit of it, but now that it was melted enough, it was nearly impossible to push up the majority of the ice cream to eat. The staff was even coated by the ice cream as Ranma moved it up and down, it seems he ended up sticky in the end anyway. He was also bloated from the first icecream. He knew he could eat this one, or he wouldn't have bought it, but it was a chore all the way to the end. Now he understood why his mom always told him to not have too many sweets.

All the while, Yuga stared into the sky and talked with his friend about fun ideas they could try to film for their channel.

At the Kakogawa residence, Ranma took out his phone to open the door and let them both in.

"Maybe we can find something in the basement," Ranma said casually. Yuga sped through taking off his shoes to scavenge through Ranma's house's basement, arguably the best place to find many awesome things for videos. It was also naturally cooler down there. Yuga was the first one down the stairs, before Ranma even took off his shoes.

While Yuga was busy, Ranma thought to wash his hands quick in the bathroom. His hands were still sticky. When the water started running and his hands were all soapy, Ranma glanced in the mirror. It sure was him. He had a cold stare looking back. When he wasn't around anyone, his facial expression rested into this sharp, sinister glare. He wasn't mad, he knew he wasn't, this was just his default.

While he was washing his hands, he might as well splash his face to cool off. Ranma couldn't believe how refreshing just a small splash could be. But then he realized. oh no.

He looked back into the mirror. His face was wet, and his expression was forlorn. He accidentally washed off most of his coverup. They still never sell waterproof concealer in his tone, and he has just splashed off most of it, revealing the most ugliest parts of his face. Little dark circles from staring at a screen all night, and oh no, the pimples...

His stomach retched at his appearance. He sighed and rolled his eyes, reaching into a nearby cabinet to reapply. He was hoping to do this quickly. He didn't want Yuga to be suspicious.

It made him wonder, however, as he dabbed some concealer on his nose, if anyone else does this. The whole...hiding the fact you use makeup. Ranma wondered if Yuga does it, too. Yuga's face always seems so clean, so maybe he uses makeup as well. It's not like he'll ask, though. That's probably a personal question. Ranma knew if _he_ was asked, he would say no in a second. He knows makeup isn't just for girls, but it's still wrong to think you're fooling everyone with an illusion of flawlessness. That just under the surface, the most insecure pieces of yourself lie in wait for the moment to show themself. How far it will take you to seem so clean, perfect and pretty, when just a splash away you can become the horror of everyone's eyes.

Ranma laughed to himself, "horror" might be an exaggeration.


	2. April

Yuga walked out of the nurse's office and smiled at his friend. "Hey Ranma! I grew 5cm and lost 5kg. Two fives!" He said this and gestured 2 and 5 with his fingers on each hand.

"Yuga, you twig! You should eat more if you're losing weight," Ranma said jokingly.

"Nah, if I eat more I will just get taller," Yuga said, passing Ranma by and waving a "see you later". Ranma noticed, as Yuga passed by, that Yuga was just a little taller than him. Just a little. How he didn't take this into account until now was concerning. _It's not anything to sweat over_ , Ranma thought, _but just how much shorter was he_?

The nurse was kind and spoke clearly and calmly to Ranma. "Have a seat, I need to ask you questions." the nurse said.

The nurse asked Ranma simple questions. What grade he was in, his name, can he show the nurse his school ID card. Ranma didn't care about any of it much. He really wanted to get to the part where he got to find out how tall he was. It bugged him the whole time. _Stretches? I don't care, put me on that scale_ , Ranma thought. _Put that weird fin on my head and tell me I'm 170 cm!_

"Okay, take off your shoes and we'll get you measured,"

Finally!

..."Uh huh. 152 cm," The nurse said, typing the number into the tablet in hand. Ranma stared at the fin as it was put back. He looked to the nurse with a furrowed brow.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "It's not wrong?"

"It's correct. 152cm," the nurse smiled, but noticed Ranma's worried stare. "It's a little shorter than average, but don't worry. Boys your age will shoot right up in no time, so don't worry at all."

The nurse looked at the tablet, scrolling around on the page. "Ah! Last year, you were 147cm. You grew 5cm!"

"5cm, that's the same as Yuga," Ranma sighed. If they were growing at the same rate, does that mean Ranma was always shorter than him? How did he not notice? He shook his head, at least the difference wasn't any larger.

"Yes. Perhaps if you eat enough veggies, I think you'll be able to meet your friend's height. Or, you could be taller than him!" The nurse said, obviously comforting him.

"Thank you for the advice," Ranma said. He wasn't going to follow the nurse's advice.

The nurse moved on to weigh Ranma. The whole time the needle that indicated the weight set was much too light, but every measurement was set to 0. Wouldn't it have been funny if he weighed 0kg, Ranma thought. The nurse began to move the measurements across the scale, evening them out until the needle wiggled in midair.

Before the nurse said it, Ranma already knew.

"54.5kg is your weight," the nurse said as the number was typed into the tablet as well. Once again, Ranma looked at the nurse with a worried expression. Begging for comfort. Is that too much? It sounds like a lot. The nurse and Ranma met eyes for a silent second. The nurse tapped a finger on the tablet, scrolling.

"Well, think of it this way: once you grow taller, it'll be seen as average. For now it is only slightly higher than the average. So, no worries, you're growing! Things will even out as you grow, remember this." The nurse said with a big smile.

"What was I before? I don't remember, sorry," Ranma asked.

"Last year, you weighed 44.1kg. You've gained 10.4kg." The nurse answered.

Ranma gaining 10kg, versus Yuga losing 5kg.

But Ranma was growing! That's what the nurse said, so Ranma smiled.

"Ha! Yuga really is a twig!" He laughed to himself. He looked at the needle once more. It was set in place, no amount of shifting changed it, or made it wiggle. He really gained 10kg.

"Alright, thank you for your time! You can leave now, and please don't forget your shoes," the nurse said sweetly.

Yuga was waiting for Ranma outside the door, much like Ranma had done.

"So?" Yuga asked. He was obviously asking for the measurements.

Ranma thought about it: grew 5cm and gained 10kg. It didn't sound too bad, really. Using the real numbers was what sounds the scariest. 152 cm and 54.5kg does sound more scary.

"I grew 5cm like you! I gained 10kg though, so that means when I get taller than you I'll be normal, and you'll be a skeleton!" Ranma said, elbowing Yuga playfully.

"What? No way! Did you grow muscle?" Yuga asked, making a gesture of flexing his bicep. Ranma didn't think about it that way. He almost smacked himself. Of course! It's not a bad thing to be heavier than normal if you're buff.

"Yeah! I'm gonna get more and more muscle, just you see! Then I'll be tall AND strong," Ranma said, puffing his chest. There really wasn't anything to worry about, that nurse was right, and it took Yuga for him to realize what the nurse meant. That's what good friends do, after all.

"I dare you to carry me all the way to class!" Yuga said, stretching his arms out. With a determined glint in his eyes, Ranma hoisted Yuga up by the waist and over his shoulder. It felt effortless, almost. So he DID grow muscle! The two of them laughed as Ranma carried Yuga down the hallway. For Ranma, a wave of satisfaction washed over his body.

 _Worrying about your weight is for girls_ , that's what Ranma thought to himself, _I'll be fine!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly, I used the 2016 annual measurements, instead of trying to be as recent as possible to accommodate what a child in the 2050s would measure. Ah! Considering the gap in time, maybe it doesn't matter?


	3. October: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sports Day, Part 1

The second Monday of October, Sports Day. A day Ranma never particularly liked, but this time, he was so excited for. Ever since the yearly measurements, Ranma had been investing time to lifting weights and getting strong. It made him feel good, and his body felt thicker. He knew he was stronger than before, so he signed up for some school-wide competitions. He had confidence that he could get pretty far, or better, win the whole event!

Yuga and Masato signed up also. In fact, the three of them signed up together! To be able to work on the same team as Masato made Yuga and Ranma the envy of the school. Masato, for his stature, was a boon on their chances of wiping the competition no problem. Ranma was confident enough in himself to get far, but with Masato, winning in sports is basically mandatory!

"FOR SHARE! Good afternoon Yuga! Good afternoon Ranma! Got your water? Good!" Masato said jogging to meet the aforementioned boys. He was wearing the uniform he picked out for the team: green shorts with a white tank top. Agito was shortly behind him holding some clothes. Ranma and Yuga said hello and took the uniform Agito offered to them both. Ranma felt proud of telling Masato he was a max size, despite being shorter. His arms and shoulders felt more filled out than they were supposed to, which to Ranma probably meant he was growing serious muscle.

Yuga and Ranma went off to put on their uniforms. In the confines of a bathroom stall, Ranma stripped down to his boxers. The stall wasn't perfectly reflective, but he tried to look at his reflection on the stall wall. When he gripped his fingers around his limbs, they felt tight body mass underneath. The shoulders and calves had the least give, and Ranma smiled when he couldn't squish the skin. One day, he'll get all of his body like this.

He thought about Masato while he checked out his arms. When Masato came jogging in today, his shoulders were exposed. His whole arm was defined with intricate muscles, and it made Ranma feel...a little inadequate. He sighed when he realized that, in comparison to Masato, he was basically still a noodle.

"Ranma, is something wrong?" Yuga asked from another stall. Ever since the Buddyfight Ace Playoffs last year, Yuga has been more attentive to Ranma. Even the smallest sound, the tiniest frown, Yuga was there to check up on his friend. It always made Ranma feel better to be reminded of it.

"Masato is just...going to totally dominate this competition, isn't he?" Ranma responded.

"You never know. I would like to see him be challenged in his own court, if you know what I mean," Yuga called back, "You've been training ever since spring. Even though we're on the same team, you may be able to outshine him."

"I don't want to outshine him!" Ranma laughed. "I don't want us to just be backup dancers to his performance."

"Oh. Yeah," Yuga mumbled.

"I've been training, I know," Ranma said while adjusting his uniform, "but Masato is just really buff. Have you seen the guy?"

"I know. Massive." Yuga replied.

"Just huge." Ranma said back.

"He makes me want to bench press twice my weight by just seeing him," Yuga nodded.

A man who can influence your goals and ideals by just being in your presence. It's a very powerful thing to have, and Ranma wasn't sure if Masato was aware of his influence on others.

In uniform, Yuga and Ranma showed themselves to their team leader. Masato gave them a big thumbs up and got to warming up. A jog, some stretches, sit-ups and jumping jacks. Ranma was sweating already, emanating heat that kept him warm in the mid fall weather. Yuga was breathing heavily, leaning against his knees. Ranma nearly scoffed at Yuga's tired posture. It was Ranma and Masato that stood straight up. While Ranma couldn't help but breathe heftily through his nose, Masato's breathing hadn't even begun to change. To Ranma, he felt as if he was right in the middle of what a fit kid his age is. Yet, he looked at Masato as a goal to reach. Every movement of Masato was Ranma's to copy. His core ached. He felt ready to compete.

The first whistle blew and the competition had begun. It was a tug-of-war between Aibou Academy's teams and a neighboring school. Ranma could only hear Yuga grunting against the huge burden of force coming from the other side of the rope. He was only used to these tug-of-war games lasting no more than 10 seconds, yet he lost track of time, lost in his head, focusing on the sweat lubricating his grip on the rope. His footing slid back and forth, he jumped backwards, ground his heels down into the dry dirt until there was a crater. Dust covered everything. His shoulders were nearly giving out, and he heard the overseer yell that they have been tugging for 45 seconds. It felt like years had gone by, he had lived in a culture of devastation and struggle with the warm bodies of classmates he could only recognize by their faces. He felt some slip and fall off, exiting the void of his mind where he might as well believe they were dead. Ringing begun in his ears, he heard Masato start to strain. Ranma's heart fluttered with passion remembering that Masato was still in this fight, close by and silently supporting everyone.

Ranma's eyes needed to stay shut, lest they be filled with dust. They watered and streams fell down his cheeks. His brain begged him to stop, that this victory was fruitless, that no amount of bragging rights will justify this amount of strain. Slowly his mind faded out of technical reason, and directly fed into the animal instinct of millennium's past. Reasoning wastes energy. Doubting yourself takes time away from the present. Modesty is an exchange Ranma did not need. He yanked harder on the rope, stepping back as his team followed suit. In his mind he could feel it, the purpose of self-fulfilled strength.

Yet, in a single moment, someone slipped. Everyone in Aibou Academy was pushed forward with a pained yell. A mixture of happiness and sadness ensued. A whistle blew. Ranma knew nothing other than he scraped both knees and that his shoulders felt like they were torn off. He came back into his present self and found himself lying on the ground on his side. He looked up to see Yuga and Masato helping each other up. Ranma couldn't push himself up. He begged with his eyes to his friends that he was stuck there. When he was lifted by them, the pain slowly subsided, and only the bitter flavor of defeat coated his throat as he took a swig from a water bottle.

"How did I last that long?" Yuga asked. He sat next to Ranma panting. Ranma wiped his face, mixed with dust and tears, and offered the water bottle to Yuga. He took a sip from it and began to catch his breath. "I thought I would have fallen out halfway through."

"But you didn't," Ranma looked over to his friend. His eyes squinted as he watched Yuga's body move up and down from heavy breaths. By now, Ranma had caught his breath at least. Yuga was still so tuckered out. In Ranma's eyes, Yuga seems so fragile now, since Ranma has been working out. He hoped his friend didn't pull anything out of place during the tug-o-war. His face softened and he smiled.

"Good job Yuga!" Ranma said.

"Thanks," Yuga laughed.

Ranma looked up at the sky. He realized he may have said that a little...condescendingly. That wasn't a complement. Yuga was the least strongest between Masato and him, sure, but he's still very fit. Ranma hoped Yuga didn't notice that slight.

 _I grip on to anything that would make me seem better than others, and look down on anyone I can, even on accident,_ Ranma thought to himself. He suddenly felt guilty. A tiny frown flashed on his face. He felt Yuga's eyes on him, and it made him feel even more guilty. He was baiting attention from Yuga again, wasn't he? And after insulting him, too...

Before Yuga could say something, the whistle blew. Time for the next event.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that on 2020, this event will be called Sports Day? It's still actually still called Health and Sports Day until the Olympics. So I can imagine in the 2050s, the event will still be called Sports Day.


	4. October: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2020! This year, Health and Sports Day will officially start being called Sports Day in Japan!
> 
> AO3 has this styling option for Right-to-Left reading, but it ruins the punctuation slightly. Please pretend there is a period at the end of those paragraphs. Thanks.

Sports Day continued, and while Ranma, Yuga and Masato had a slow start with the school-vs-school events, the team-vs-team events _really_ allowed them to shine. When a team lost, they were no longer competing, and became a part of the crowd. So, as Sports Day went on, the crowds and the cheering got bigger and louder!

It really inflated Ranma’s ego that he had gotten so far with his friends. So many eyes were on him, and it didn’t worry him one bit. He was used to lots of people watching him since he and Yuga are popular YuuTubers. In fact, Garcat, Gardog, and Garbird were helping him film this day LIVE for the RanGa channel! After every event, he rushed to the bathroom to check and see if his coverup had rubbed off, then checked in with the audience online. He didn’t want blemishes to be permanently uploaded to the internet forever! With technology as advanced as it is in the 2050s, it still can’t catch up with high-speed sports, so Ranma needed to stay vigilant.

Yuga, however, only went to the bathroom to...go to the bathroom. As Ranma was hiding in a stall to reapply, he heard his friend walk in and start to use the urinal a few feet away. It started to bother Ranma that not once had Yuga ever looked in the mirror while washing his hands, either. _Maybe Yuga didn’t use coverup after all,_ he thought. _But...maybe Yuga just has a really good product or something. Lucky!_

_Not even the best product in Cho-Tokyo could withstand two hours of dirty sports. Yuga definitely doesn’t need anything on his face. Unlike you, you ugly octopus_

Ranma’s eyes grew wide. Something in his head said something very mean, and the fact that it wasn’t swept aside halfway through shocked him.

But Ranma had experience with this voice in his head; the voice of his self-doubt. It’s what led him to become Vile Ranma along with Vanity Husk Destroyer’s convincing, after all. It was some cruel, blunt voice that spoke all his insecurities and shot it straight into his consciousness, unable to be ignored.

Even though he never hated his buddy for using his self-doubt to manipulate him, Ranma knew that entertaining this voice in his head will only make him feel down, and he knew how to shut it up. He needed to think about how the voice was wrong, and everything would be alright.

For example: _I’m pretty sure there’s something out there in his tone that really is that good. Besides, his movement is very careful, and he avoids getting his uniform dirty or his body scuffed. He’s being cautious about how he looks, too, but just in a different way than me._

With that, the voice didn’t even retaliate. Easy win.

“Ranma.”

Speaking of his buddy, the purple-flamed skull of Vanity Husk Destroyer materialized in the bathroom stall’s reflection. Does he insist on being more and more creepy?

“I sense an unease inside of you,” he said in that booming, deep voice that made Ranma feel so calm, so safe. Destroyer spoke inside his mind, as well.

“You’re right,” Ranma whispered as he heard Yuga leaving the bathroom. “But don’t worry about it.”

“I’ve been sensing these feelings since the Sports Day began,” Destroyer replied, his glowing, wide eyes would scare any average 13-year-old shitless, but not Ranma. “I cannot let these feelings go on any longer. Tell me.”

For such a being to be considered a calamity that nearly brought the end times before time began, he is slowly learning what it means to be buddies with Ranma, and is embracing it wholeheartedly. After Destroyer had attempted to collect Negative Energy to evolve and invade the universe, he was forced to release his reserves after turning himself in to the Buddy Police. Now he only feeds on Ranma’s energy, but only to take it away from Ranma as brief relief.  He offers this ritual to Ranma every now and then, and they both know it’s what makes their connection as buddies a little bit closer than normal for Ranma’s age.

It also stopped the voice from showing up as often.

“I’m stressed about losing. You know how much I hate to lose,” Ranma responded. “But even if I lose, I will be fine. You don’t need to do anything to help.” This time, however, Ranma wanted to try and deal with his self-doubt on his own.

“Very well.” Destroyer then vanished from the reflection in the stall. Ranma blinked as he looked away from the reflection in the stall, noticing he had been staring directly where Destroyer’s eyes were, even after he had left.

Ranma gently patted his cheeks to redirect his focus on the next event. It was a relay race between his team and a team from the rival school. He’s got this.

The whistle blew, and the crowd began to boom. Ranma looked down the track to watch Yuga start the race for his team. Ranma’s stomach was doing gymnastics. He didn’t know until they all gathered on the field which part of the race he’d be completing. He had a 66.6% chance of not being the last one in the race, and he was hoping Masato was going to really push his limits for that final sprint. Alas, Ranma was the last on the relay, and suddenly a **_LOT_** was resting on his shoulders.

He watched his teammates give their all, and Yuga had pushed forward only slightly above the other team. He fumbled the baton, but Masato was always good with his reflexes, and yanked the baton out from the bottom of Yuga’s grip. Ranma wondered how that was possible. Sweat? Maybe.

Ranma realized that this whole day he was comparing himself to his teammates, and concluding he was a perfect middle between them both. If Yuga was technically the worst on the team, surely their win was guaranteed! Masato’s thigh muscles immediately began to spring into action as he full tilt sprinted towards Ranma. It was then that Ranma’s heart lurched upon the realization that _it was coming_ ; Masato was running towards him and it was _now or never_ to prove that all his working out didn’t amount to nothing.

It was time to really, truly focus.

Ranma stood poised to run, with one shaky hand behind him to grab the baton. Masato will find a way to slip it easily into his hand. He dropped his face into a serious, sharp one. The one he hid from everyone to look friendly. That was out the window. Besides, it made him look cool sometimes.

Yes. He’s confident, capable, and athletic enough to finish this off. Masato had approximately half a meter on their opponent, _and that meant_ —

“Ranma! Good luck!” Masato’s voice trailed into the distance behind Ranma as he gripped the baton and just _went_. Just because they had a large gain didn’t mean Ranma could just cruise to the finish line, he needed to take his opponent seriously. He had looked at him briefly: slim, tall, probably actually in the track team? He looked fast but Ranma needed to prove he was _faster_. Right now.

There was sweat and Ranma’s body was burning. Yet he breathed sheer ice in the summer-autumn evening. A cycle of perfect harmony: not too hot, not too cold. Ranma wasn’t burdened by the environment whatsoever.

The finish line was so close.

He could feel it. The voice of self-doubt. It eeked into Ranma’s consciousness like a ghost in a horror movie, staring with wide eyes and an eerie Cheshire grin on the edge of the frame. He could already hear what it might say:

_You’ll trip and fall, you’ll trip and fall, you’re gonna trip and fall, you’re gonna trip and fall. You won’t win, you won’t win, you’ll lose this for everyone, you’ll lose this for everyone who had a semblance of care for you_

“SHUT UP!” He yelled out loud. Before it even started, he needed to keep it quiet. On the contrary, the crowd’s volume didn’t change at all.

Ranma squeezed his eyes shut and pushed real hard. He felt the tape of the finish line tap his abdomen and so he slowed down and opened his eyes. The crowd was so loud.

He turned around and noticed he continued to run pretty far. The other team’s last runner was 3 meters behind him. What did that mean? Did he look weird running for so long afterwards?

Suddenly he heard it in the crowd: chanting. “Aibou! Aibou! Aibou!”

It meant he finished it, right? They won?

Masato and Yuga ran up to Ranma. Their faces were wearing the biggest smiles ever.

“FOR SHARE! Ranma! Yuga! We did it! Good job everyone!” Masato hollered above the din. He was laughing and panting, and looped an arm around Ranma’s shoulder, pushing Ranma into a side hug. Masato added to the voices chanting their school’s name, and the Link Dragon Order monsters were whooping in general, excited in Masato’s victory, even if it wasn’t Buddyfight.

Ranma looked on and saw Yuga looped around Masato’s other arm. He was just laughing, having a jolly time celebrating. Ranma wanted to look...just briefly. He strained his sight to look for blemishes on Yuga’s face. or any discoloration. Something that implied he had pimples. There was...nothing.

It was difficult from all the jumping and yelling, though.

“Congratulations to Aibou Academy!” one of the overseers said on a microphone. The crowd roared once more, then finally died down. Ranma felt ringing in his ears as he walked off the track field with Masato still looping him and Yuga tightly under his armpits.

Once Ranma had gotten free of Masato’s grasp, he dashed off to the bathroom once more. He felt especially sweaty this time.

“Oh no,” he audibly gasped as he checked his reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was as if he never wore coverup at all. He washed his face and before he could duck into a stall to reapply, he heard Yuga call for him.

“Ranma! Hey, you left so quickly. We need to finish off the livestream, bro!” Yuga called as he turned the corner into the bathroom, spotting Ranma there, holding the little tube in both hands. Ranma’s heart sank when just behind Yuga, Garcat sprung in, and two drones followed.

_The livestream could see this._


End file.
